physicist
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of physicist
Explanation
A physicist is a scientist who studies and is trained in physics, which is the study of nature, especially how matter and energy behave. Do you ever wonder how things work? If you're interested in what makes magnets attract iron or what's happening in atoms, then maybe you should become a physicist. Physicists study physics, which is related to the word physical. Physicists are interested in everything that physically exists, from tiny gadgets to massive stars. It takes many years of school to become a physicist, and physicists work on complex projects such as space travel and new energy sources.
Vocabulary lists containing physicist
Albert Einstein
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Bomb
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The reason we became interested in stadium waves is that, apparently, people very often behave like particles," physicist Illes Farkas told the NPR network.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
The firm's approach to this is based on exploiting the properties of a so-called quasi-particle, which had existed only in theory, since it was first predicted in the 1930s by Italian physicist Ettore Majorana.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Beside it is the pale blue flight jacket of Sally Ride, a physicist who in 1983 became the first American woman in space.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
Millions of readers bought Hawking’s 1988 book, “A Brief History of Time,” eager to learn from the brilliant physicist, who had first gained prominence studying singularities and black holes.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
The answer to this came out of a completely different approach introduced by a British mathematician and physicist, Roger Penrose, in 1965.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
